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Commonly asked questions about master planning and the district's efforts.
Commonly asked questions about master planning and the district's efforts.
Essential Plan FAQ:
Essential Plan FAQ:
You may have noticed that the Portage County Auditor’s website and the ballot language for Issue #4 now use the term “market value” rather than “appraised value.” This is simply a change in terminology. “Market value” refers to the value established for your property by the County Auditor - it does not mean the actual sale price of your home. The calculation used to determine the estimated cost of The Essential Plan bond issue has not changed. Residents can find the same cost calculation and examples in the slide deck from our community presentations.
You may have noticed that the Portage County Auditor’s website and the ballot language for Issue #4 now use the term “market value” rather than “appraised value.” This is simply a change in terminology. “Market value” refers to the value established for your property by the County Auditor - it does not mean the actual sale price of your home. The calculation used to determine the estimated cost of The Essential Plan bond issue has not changed. Residents can find the same cost calculation and examples in the slide deck from our community presentations.
We hope this clarification helps as our community continues to learn about Issue #4 and The Essential Plan.
We hope this clarification helps as our community continues to learn about Issue #4 and The Essential Plan.
How is the Financial Efficiency of Aurora City Schools Compared to Surrounding Districts?
When you look at how Aurora City Schools spends educational dollars compared to neighboring peer districts, we have built a fiscally responsible district that focuses our resources on each student.
Our per-pupil spending, as compared to other highly rated Northeast Ohio districts, shows that we operate significantly lower than regional averages while maintaining top-tier academic results.
We take pride in being a low-cost, high-value steward of taxpayer dollars. Operating efficiently means that we stretch our funds, making sure every dollar supports classroom instruction, student support services, and essential school operations.
While surrounding communities have seen a rapid decline in enrollment, our district is relatively stable, with a projected increase in the future. This requires us to balance our approach between daily administrative, operational, and staff needs with looking to the future and ensuring building challenges don’t impact our ability to deliver a quality educational experience for our students.
The Essential Plan is focused on providing only what is needed to address capacity issues and necessary building updates while keeping the tax impact as low as possible.
Can we fund the new Grade 1-3 Elementary School as we did for Leighton Elementary?
Some have asked why we cannot fund the new Grade 1 through 3 Elementary School as we did for Leighton Elementary.
Aurora City Schools hasn’t passed a bond issue for a new building since 1970, almost 60 years ago. When we built Leighton Elementary 25 years ago, we did something almost unheard of in the public school arena. We self-financed the school using existing funds without asking taxpayers for a new building bond issue.
This approach allowed us to build Leighton Elementary without asking for a tax increase. It saved taxpayers this cost, and we paid it off over time utilizing a combination of our operating funds and permanent improvement funds. This payment schedule meant we had to balance the payment with other deferred maintenance items elsewhere in the district.
Unfortunately, due to cost, we cannot pursue this pathway for replacing Craddock Elementary.
However, the Essential Plan reflects a commitment to financial efficiency. It addresses our core facility needs while valuing the feedback from our community and respecting the investment our community makes in our schools.
How has the district saved money over the years?
The Aurora City School District works to stretch every dollar we spend, entrusted to us by our community.
We maintain low administrative overhead across our buildings and operations. In addition, we stretch our building capacity and maintenance budgets, without needing new major facility money since the 1970s. We maintain them to the best of our ability for student, staff, and community use.
When Leighton Elementary was built, instead of passing a bond issue, the district self-financed the project and paid the school off over a 24- to 25-year period. Doing so, there hasn’t been a tax increase for facility construction in almost 60 years. While we had to balance facility payments with maintenance items, this was a way we could avoid asking taxpayers for additional revenue.
Additionally, we have made disciplined personnel moves, while joining consortiums for utilities, health care, technology, career technical programs, and services through our Regional Educational Service Centers. This approach saves the district millions of dollars each year.
By finding creative ways to save money, we keep our operating budgets focused on supporting our students inside the classroom.
What is the reasoning behind replacing Craddock Elementary?
When we talk about the need to replace Craddock Elementary, it’s not because of exploding enrollment growth. It’s about the reality of addressing an aging building.
Parts of Craddock Elementary are 80 to 100 years old. It faces infrastructure challenges such as leaky roofs, electrical systems that don’t support current classroom needs, and spaces that don't meet ADA accessibility standards.
Replacing this building provides students and staff with a learning environment that is safe, functional, and modern. It also addresses the oldest building in the district, with the highest maintenance cost. The Essential Plan addresses this aging structure directly, ensuring our youngest learners have the quality facilities they need to thrive every day for now and for generations of Greenmen in the years ahead.
How did Aurora City Schools develop the Essential Plan?
When the ACSD Master Facility bond issue fell short in 2024, we gathered input from our community and went back to the drawing board.
We conducted community surveys, listened to our residents, and heard a clear message that we should prioritize the essentials that the district needed to move forward, while addressing our most pressing capacity needs at the elementary level.
We took that feedback and developed the “Essential Plan,” a roadmap that focused entirely on our oldest building, early education, transportation, and vital building maintenance.
It’s a solution that was developed by listening to residents and designed to make the biggest impact on our district while being good stewards of community tax dollars and keeping our learners safe and future-ready.
When was the last time that Aurora City Schools had a major construction project/bond issue?
Many have asked, “When was the last time voters approved a bond issue for a new school building?” The answer goes back almost 60 years ago to 1970, with the construction of Harmon Middle School.
Aurora City Schools most recently built Leighton Elementary around 25 years ago. But the district did it by self-financing through existing general and permanent improvement funds. Not passing a bond issue for a new building. While it was an option then, due to rising costs and inflation over the last two decades, this isn’t an option available today.
Two full generations of students have passed through the doors of Aurora City Schools since our community last funded a new school. The Essential Plan directly addresses our aging facilities while respecting our long history of responsible spending.
Why can’t we just keep Craddock the way it is and do this when the timing is more convenient?
Some have asked, "Why can’t we keep Craddock as it is, and wait for a different time to replace it?”
Doing nothing in this regard comes at a steep cost. Parts of Craddock are 100 years old. Delaying replacement means the district will spend millions on small repairs, failing equipment, leaky roofs, obsolete electrical grids, and spaces that don’t support modern educational and accessibility standards. Since the district began exploring a facility solution in 2019, the cost of bringing Craddock up to a basic standard has more than doubled.
Operating inefficient, aging structures drains money away from our daily operations. Addressing these critical building needs now isn't about convenience but a proactive approach to spending taxpayer dollars and giving our students safe, functional spaces for today and tomorrow.
What is in the Essential Plan?
In a nutshell, the Essential Plan addresses Aurora City School’s core facility needs across the district.
The plan includes constructing a new grades 1 through 3 elementary school to replace 100-year-old Craddock Elementary, building a modern transportation facility to serve and maintain the bus fleet, and completing essential roofing, paving, and HVAC repairs at the remaining schools and district properties in order to positively impact all of the district’s buildings and grounds.
It’s a roadmap that replaces the costliest building in the district and extends the life of our current buildings so that resources can stay focused on our students, providing the highest quality educational experience for our students and families.
Maximizing State Dollars Through the ELPP Program
Aurora City Schools currently receives only about eighteen percent of our annual operating funding from the State of Ohio. This is due to Aurora generally being recognized as a “wealthy district.” So, careful budget management is necessary to ensure we use our operating budget wisely.
To offset facility costs for the Essential Plan, the district enrolled in the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission’s Expedited Local Partnership Program, or ELPP. This positions us to potentially receive fourteen percent, or roughly thirteen million dollars, in future state reimbursement funds after the project is completed. This could be used to pay down the project cost or other necessary improvements at that time.
The cost of the approved Essential Plan would be $149 per appraised $100,000 of home value. This can be calculated by finding your home’s “appraised cost” on the Portage County Auditor's website. [https://portagecountyauditor.org/]
It is important to note that a property’s appraised value is not the same as its sale value, so understanding this number is important when calculating your total amount.
Enrolling in ELPP for the Essential Plan is a strategy that allows us to address current infrastructure challenges now, while capturing future state dollars to protect our local community's investment.
I understand that House Bill 96 (the State Operating Budget) allocated an additional $700 million for public education in 2026. Will we be seeing any of that money coming to the Aurora City School District soon?
The new state budget, House Bill 96, increased funding for K–12 education statewide. However, there are a few important distinctions that help put that increase into context.
The approximately $700 million increase is a statewide figure over the two-year state budget, rather than an increase that flows directly or proportionately to the Aurora community. Ohio's school funding formula distributes state dollars based largely upon each community's calculated ability to raise revenue locally. Because Aurora is considered a relatively high-property-wealth district, the State provides a comparatively small percentage of our operating revenue.
Currently, less than 18% of Aurora's operating funding comes from the State, leaving the large majority to be generated locally.
We have pursued state assistance for our facility projects through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission. Under that program, Aurora's calculated state share is only approximately 13–14%, meaning that even when the District qualifies for state participation, the overwhelming majority of the project cost remains a local responsibility.
The Essential Plan was developed specifically to focus on our most essential facility needs and significantly reduce the scope and cost of the plan previously considered by the community.
I heard that school districts may carry up to 40% of their general fund in unspent cash at the end of each year. Also, this could be distributed back to Ohioans as property tax relief. Does Aurora City Schools carry this overage in their general fund, and will they be able to distribute it back to our community?
A 40% carryover provision threshold was included in House Bill 96 and required certain excess balances to be used to reduce property taxes. However, that provision was vetoed and did not become law in that form. Subsequent legislation expanded the authority of county budget commissions to review whether tax collections are excessive or unnecessary.
Ohio law does not currently establish an automatic requirement that school districts return any general-fund balance above 40% to property owners.
Aurora City Schools does not maintain an excessive operating reserve of 40%. Even following passage of our operating levy in 2023, our cash balance has generally peaked only slightly above 30% of annual expenditures before declining over subsequent years.
That reserve is important because of the unusual way Ohio finances its public schools. For many voted operating levies, House Bill 920 reduces the effective tax rate as existing property values increase, so rising home values generally do not provide a corresponding inflationary increase in revenue from those levies.
Meanwhile, expenses for salaries, transportation, utilities, insurance, technology, special education and other services continue to increase. As a result, districts such as ACSD must build a responsible cash balance after an operating levy and then use that balance over several years as expenditures grow faster than revenues.
Using those dollars for a one-time tax reduction would shorten our financial runway and would simply cause the District to return to voters sooner for additional operating revenue.
Hasn't the State of Ohio increased the funding to local public schools? Shouldn't those funds go towards the schools and alleviate the need for schools to rely on local taxpayers as a primary funding source?
It is helpful to look at the larger State of Ohio funding picture. Ohio has increased the nominal number of dollars appropriated to K–12 education, but that increase occurs alongside inflation and significant growth in other state-funded educational programs.
For example, Ohio Department of Education and Workforce records show that the State spent approximately $493 million on EdChoice Expansion alone in 2024-25. When Traditional EdChoice, Cleveland, Autism, and Jon Peterson scholarships are included, state scholarship expenditures exceeded $1 billion that year. Those are policy decisions made at the state level, but they help explain why an increase in the overall education appropriation does not necessarily translate into substantially greater funding for an individual public school district such as Aurora City Schools. While funding has increased, this amount often goes towards other educational programs, not local school districts.
The present funding structure still leaves districts highly dependent upon local taxpayers if their communities want to maintain facilities and educational programs.
Didn't Aurora City Schools just pass a levy for additional funding for the district?
In November of 2023, the Aurora community passed an operations levy for the ACSD. The funding from this levy is going toward day-to-day operations, salaries, and other expenses incurred from running the school district.
The November 2026 issue is a bond issue for capital facilities and not an operating levy. While the district is able to maintain its staff and services, it doesn't have the tens of millions of dollars necessary to replace an aging elementary building, construct an adequate transportation facility, and complete significant infrastructure projects involving HVAC, roofs, paving, and other major building systems.
It differs from the 2024 bond proposal in that we studied numerous alternatives, gathered community input and reduced the scope substantially, developing the Essential Plan around the highest-priority needs: elementary education, transportation infrastructure, and preservation of our existing buildings.
"The Essential Plan" is designed to responsibly address facility needs that have been documented over several years and cannot be funded through a normal operating budget.
How did the buildings get so bad? Did the District ignore repairs?
No, in fact, the opposite is true. District maintenance staff continue to do their best to keep the schools safe and in the best shape possible. This includes spending thousands of dollars each year on basic and “Band-Aid” repairs to expensive, outdated systems that no longer function efficiently. However, due to space shortages and the building's effective lifespan, most repairs are no longer enough. The high school and elementary school are not ADA accessible. The district uses every square foot in each of the buildings. Continuing to spend money on repairs and makeshift modifications is not the best use of District dollars. The most cost-efficient, fiscally responsible action is to consider a long-term facility plan that accommodates the district for the next 75 years.
Can you provide me with an overview of this plan?
We developed a page that outlines several key points on the plan that can be found at the "Our Plan" page on our Master Planning Website.
Where can I find information on the current schools, including their age and enrollment capacity?
A chart of our facilities, which outlines their age, student capacity, recognition, and other details, can be found here.
With more people moving into Aurora, my home value is going up. If my home value goes up, does that mean I am paying more taxes for this bond issue?
A bond issue is essentially a “fixed sum levy.” It is subject to House Bill 920, so your taxes do not go up if the value of your home goes up. The schools cannot collect more than they are asking, regardless of how much your home is worth over time. As more houses and businesses are added in Aurora, the taxes associated with this bond would actually go down since you are taking the same fixed sum and spreading it over a larger tax base. This happens because there are more people who are helping to pay.
Will the new high school be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified or more energy efficient than our existing schools?
The new school will likely be LEED Silver Certified. Typically in new school construction, we design features that have a big impact on the indoor environment and energy consumption. For example, the indoor air quality is improved through the use of low-emitting materials which contain no or low amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOC’s are carbon compounds that become a gas at normal room temperatures and contribute to air pollution directly and through atmospheric photochemical reactions, produce secondary air pollutants such as ozone and peroxyacetyl nitrate. Most new schools concentrate on using adhesives, sealants, paints, carpets, and composite woods throughout the building that are low-emitting. For energy and utility consumptions, the HVAC system will be energy efficient, provide the required fresh air requirements, and control the humidity to create a healthy and comfortable air quality. Additionally, water consumption is reduced significantly through the use of low flow fixtures and other measures. During the design and construction process there are a variety of “credits” the district can choose from to achieve LEED Silver Certification. Once the project enters design, the architects, engineers, and school district hold an “Eco-Charrette” to determine which credits will be chosen to be incorporated into the project.
LEED Certified buildings are more efficient than their non-certified counterparts.
How does enrollment growth and inflation affect this project?
During the 1990’s, Aurora grew from approximately 2000 to 3000 students in the district. With additional construction and growth in the community, we expect more students to enroll in the district, however, it would not be the same magnitude as in the 1990’s. The project on the ballot allows room for growth in each of the buildings. Inflation guarantees that the project will only become more expensive the longer that the project is delayed.
What safety precautions are being considered for the design of the new school? Will it compromise the look of the building?
Responsible student security and safety techniques do not mean compromised building aesthetics. Design techniques that promote student safety and security include providing clear visibility to the front entry, good interior and exterior lighting, proper placement of security cameras, eliminating blindspots on the property and a secure vestibule to receive visitors. These are all methods that enhance security and do not compromise building aesthetics. Additional specifics can be considered as the project moves into its design phase.
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